But if you prefer something that’ll give you more than a fleeting moment of pleasure (chocolate is an aphrodisiac, after all), why not try a beauty advent calendar?

Your options are endless – a curse in itself, because which one should you choose? Save the stress for the Christmas gift shopping, because we can help you with this one.

Here is our extensive list of this year’s best beauty, skin and makeup advent calendars.

Green Regime

(Picture: Green People)

Price: £75

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Packaging: It’s smaller than most of the other beauty calendars, with just 12 windows to open, so you can open one every other day. Less goodies is a let-down, but it’s still one of the cutest calendars we’ve seen this year.

What’s inside: It has 15 products inside. The plant-based items are all free from harsh chemicals, parabens and SLS, including quinoa and artichoke shower products, damask rose facial oil, an organic cotton headband (which is actually great when you’re applying makeup) and a special edition Damask Rose lipstick.

Festive joy: This is your feel-good calendar. A first from Green People, the content is cruelty-free and organic, and even the packaging is 100% recyclable.

Best for: No doubt an excellent choice for environmentally conscious millennials or anyone who appreciates the many ‘free from’ aspects. It’s a favourite on our list, too.

When and where you can buy it: Available now, from the brand’s own website.

Rituals Deluxe 3D

(Picture: Rituals)

Price: £89

Packaging: The calendar comes with a cardboard Christmas tree and actual lights to attach to it – we’re sold. Each window also acts as a bauble, and you can put them all on your tree. The only downside is that it doesn’t include batteries, but we can live with that.

What’s inside: The packaging will fool you into thinking there are really big products inside, which we weren’t impressed by. But it’s a very nice selection, with facial oil, creams and candles, plus a miniature perfume.

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Festive joy: Come on now, it has its own 3D tree with baubles. Many of the product scents are inspired by the season too.

Best for: Anyone, except people who don’t like fragrant products.

When and where you can buy it: You can buy it online, and there’s also a smaller (no tree lights) version.

Liberty London

(Picture: Liberty)

(Picture: Liberty)

Price: £195 (worth £600)

Packaging: Artistic. The front is painted to resemble the department store, while inside there’s an extravagant peacock design.

What’s inside: Filled to the brim with luxury brands like Votary, Malin + Goetz, Dr Sebagh, Diptyque, Dermalogica, Laura Mercier and LIXIRSKIN. A good mix of creams and makeup with 18 full-sized products.

Festive joy: It’s sold on the fourth floor, which is also known as the Christmas floor (where you can find the best collection of baubles in the city).

Best for: Picky shoppers who like expensive beauty goodies. Anyone who lives in Chelsea. And you – if you want to treat yourself.

When and where you can buy it: Available from 24 October on the aforementioned fourth floor in the Liberty London department store or online.

Sleek

(Picture: Boots/Sleek)

Price: £35

Packaging: Not to be cheeky but the best way to describe it is, well, sleek.

What’s inside: Eyeliners, palettes and nail varnish. But our favourite treat is definitely the many lip goodies, including four lipsticks with matching lipliners.

Festive joy: Silver, bronze and gold detailing on the design, but that’s about it.

Best for: Girls in their late teens, and anyone who likes Kylie Jenner. If budgeting is your main aim but you still want to a nice calendar, this is a good option. You get what you pay for, so the quality isn’t top notch (the lipsticks don’t stick for very long) but the shades are great.

Debenhams

(Picture: Debenhams)

Price: £70 (worth £150)

Packaging: It’s your classic calendar, black design with a spattering of stars. Bit boring for our taste, but still pretty.

What’s inside: A mixture of cheap to mid-range priced brands such as Elemi, Bare Minerals, Too Faced, Too Faced, Kat Von D, MAC and NYX, as well as Debenhams Beauty. It’s an OK option, but feels fairly basic compared to some of its competitors.

Festive joy: It seems there are lots of newbies in the advent calendar game this year, as Debenhams joins in on the fun – which is always nice.

Best for: Hardcore beauty fans will scoff at the contents, while less makeup-obsessed women will like the wide range.

When and where you can buy it: Available to buy now on the Debenhams website, as well as in store.

Bubble T

(Picture: Bubble T)

Price: £29.99

Packaging: The cutest we’ve seen. It’s big, very pink and part of the box is shaped like a bubble tea container.

What’s inside: Everything needed for an excellent time in the bathroom – like bath bombs and oils, shower gels, body lotion and quirky bath tea bags.

When and where you can buy it: You can buy it from a range of websites, like the brand’s own. Available now, with a free lip balm up for grabs for all orders over £20.

ASOS Face + Body Calendar

Price: £55

Packaging: Designed in the brand’s traditional black and white pattern, so not very festive. But it is completely recyclable.

What’s inside: A mixture of hair, skin and face products to perk up your winter skin, including moisturisers, soothing and plumping gels and illuminating goodies. All of them come in miniature format apart from the 111skin facial mask.

Festive joy: Daily presents are always a joy, but that’s about it.

Best for: People who aren’t too fussed about advent calendars, but really like ASOS.

Marks & Spencer

What’s inside: Oh, this is a popular one – it tends to sell out in the first day online and we understand why. You get £250 worth of products, with many themed around recovery and rest, such as the raved-about This Works sleep spray, L’Occitane Imortelle Divine anti-aging cream and Percy & Reed overnight recovery hair treatment.

Festive joy: Quintessentially British. Kind of like mince pies.

Best for: Your gran and mum will love it. Not one for teenagers.

When and where you can buy it: It goes on sale on 6 November, in both stores and online.

Mavala

(Picture: Mavala)

Price: £45 (worth £82)

Packaging: Adorable, with a big pink bow on top. But, as it’s for 12 days, it’s smaller than your average calendar.

What’s inside: There are two versions of the Mavala calendar – one called ‘Just Nails’ (with lots of nail polish) or the ‘Nails and Skincare’, which has four shades (including a very fetching grey), tweezers, oils and creams.

Festive joy: Nothing specific, but it’s nicely packaged and can stand up on its own, with drawers that you pull out (instead of the classic route of ripping a window open).

Best for: Those who really like nail care. Not one for people who prefer acrylic nails though, as the colour won’t set as nicely.

When and where you can buy it: You can get it from a range of websites online, with a cheaper price on Amazon.

Weleda

(Picture: Weleda)

Price: £34.95

Packaging: Very unique, made in collaboration with decorative glass designer Emma Britton. Once again, only 12 days of Christmas joy, so not your traditional calendar. The items are slightly difficult to pry out though, so be careful of your fingers.

What’s inside: All brand own products. It gets repetitive, but the quality of the products is good. Celebrity favourite – the Skin Food cream – is also included. Suitable for vegetarians and free from synthetic preservatives, fragrances, colourants or raw materials derived from mineral oils.

Festive joy: Lots of sweet-smelling scents – like pomegranate, almond and wild rose. While not Christmassy, it’s still appreciated.

Best for: Those who like natural beauty goodies, and don’t require the exciting ‘what’s behind the next window’ element to appreciate a calendar.

Glossybox

(Picture: Glossybox)

Price: £75 for subscribers, £99 for non-subscribers (worth £300)

Packaging: This one is massive, but don’t be fooled – a lot of it is packaging. Good to bare in mind if it’s a gift.

What’s inside: All the makeup you will ever need this December, including the INC.redible jelly shot lip quencher to fix those chapped winter lips, the popular HUDA highlighter palette to give you a shimmering glow at Christmas parties and a Yankee Candle, to set the mood.

Festive joy: The sheer size of it will make you as excited as when you were a child, staring at your presents under the Christmas tree.

Best for: Glossybox subscribers (since you get a discount) and makeup fanatics.

John Lewis & Partners

(Picture: John Lewis)

Price: £165

Packaging: Black, white and gold. You don’t need to find anywhere to keep all your new treats, the calendar works like a nifty storage unit.

What’s inside: Nars, Dermalogica, Charlotte Tillbury, Clarins, AVEDA. You’ll likely have used or heard of the brands within the range and John Lewis are trialling a new ‘luxury size’ of each. And Givenchy debuts its new fragrance L’Interdit within, too.

Festive joy: You could win £100 worth of beauty vouchers if you’re lucky, hidden in a drawer of 20 advent calendars.

Best for: If you’d prefer bigger products from popular brands. If it’s a gift, the person you give it to will be very, very happy.